Seeds can be purchased from a number of online stores and they're quite inexpensive. Just remember to move them indoors during the coldest times of the year. If you have a balcony, rooftop or small yard, the trees grow fine in pots. They're easy to grow, too – even in Hong Kong. The fruit can be harvested as early as four months after that. They're also only about 110 calories, so you won't balloon up if you're eating one a day.īlue Java trees grow fast and reach up to six meters in height, with blooms that usually appear in less than 24 months. Like the Cavendish, the Blue Java is also an excellent source of dietary fiber, potassium, vitamins B6 and C, and magnesium. This creamy texture makes it feel like the banana is melting in your mouth as you eat it. The Blue Java is a hardy, cold-tolerant variety that has the consistency and taste of vanilla custard. The larger Gros Michel remained the world's most popular variety until the 1950s, when a fungus devastated many of the plantations in Central America.īut now there's a new contender for the banana crown – though the fact that it's not yellow is certain to change more than a few children's reading primers. Their popularity is probably due to their greater resistance to disease compared to other varieties. Most people only know the yellow, rather bland-tasting Cavendish variety that's widely sold in supermarkets Cavendish bananas make up close to 50% of all the bananas grown worldwide today. Fortunately, these blues aren't sad at all. When ripe, the fruit turn yellow and have a. The "ice cream" banana, which is also known as the Blue Java variety due to its distinctive blue peel, is gaining in popularity. Originating from Hawaii, this banana variety gets its name from the blue-green colour of the immature fruit. When it comes to bananas, get ready to start singing the blues. Could the Blue Java or another banana prove to be more resistant to the strain and dethrone the Cavendish? Only time will tell.Hawaiian Blue Java Banana Another strain of the fungus known as tropical race 4 (TR4) has been devastating the Cavendish (among other bananas), leading to concerns about the fungus crippling banana production and potentially contributing to economic loss and food insecurity in Latin America and Africa. cubense, which causes Panama disease, has been hitting the Cavendish hard in recent years. And while that's still true, the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. The Cavendish thrived because it was thought to be genetically resistant to Panama disease. Approximately 40 percent of global banana production today consists of the Cavendish, making it the de-facto king of the banana world.
Then, the Cavendish banana came along en masse.
pre-World War II, it dropped off the market after it was brought down by Panama disease. Although the Gros Michel was the "it" banana in the U.S. We've seen this happen before with the Gros Michel ( Musa acuminata 'Gros Michel') banana, also known as 'Big Mike.' (Bananas have fun names, if you haven't realized that yet). Everyone from scientists to the media have proclaimed that a banana crisis is unfolding before our eyes. The growing interest in more unorthodox bananas like the Blue Java comes at a time of great disruption in the global banana market. But watch out: These bad boys can grow to heights of 15-plus feet (4.57-plus meters). If you live in zones 8-11 on the hardiness scale, you can plant them outdoors in your backyard if you live in a zone 4 or higher, you can grow them on your patio and and move them indoors during chillier times of year. Unlike other bananas, Blue Java can survive colder climates. For our friends in Hawaii: Several local growers cultivate the Ice Cream banana, so scout out farmers' markets on the big island and Oahu.īut if you don't want to spend a fortune shipping bananas or traveling to Hawaii, you can always try purchasing a tree and planting one in your own backyard or even indoors. You can purchase the banana in bulk from this Florida-based company. Options for acquiring the Blue Java outside of Asia and the South Pacific are limited. Others suggest mixing it into a smoothie with peanut butter or doing the old trick of freezing and blending the bananas to make an all-natural ice-cream alternative. It's also widely known as the "Ice Cream" banana for its sweet and soft flesh, which bears a similarity in taste to vanilla custard or ice cream. Its white flesh contains black seeds, which isn't exactly common for a dessert banana. The unripe fruit takes on a greenish-silver-blue hue due to its wax coating, hence the name. Banana enthusiasts in recent years have begun flocking to richer alternatives like the Blue Java banana ( Musa acuminata 'Blue Java'), which is grown in many parts of Asia, Australia and Hawaii. Have you ever found the usual bananas in your grocery store to be a little, well, bland? You're not alone.
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